Agent Alpha and the Angel maker

He hit her

*Astrid*

“For someone who was buried alive and almost died she is doing good, but she might not wake up for a few days”. The nurse says, as I am in the hospital, asking about the woman we found. “I will call you if anything changes”.

“Thank you”. I give her a nod as she leaves the room.

A few moments later Jensen walks in, and I look at her. “Same van, and the same message left at the scene; ‘sinner’”.

“So it wasn’t Benny Johansen”. She says with a sigh.

“We have one less suspect and one more victim”. I shake my head lightly. “What do we know about her ?”

She looks like she is searching her brain for a moment. “Vera Ritz, 48 years old, never married, she worked as a social coordinator at a senior home”.

“That is an actual job ?” I ask, making her raise an eyebrow at me. “Okay, Dan Rasmussen let his girlfriend die of a h****n overdose and then someone shot him full of h****n. The question is …”.

“Why did an unmarried social coordinator get buried alive ?” She looks at the woman.

I nod. “Exactly”.

*Zac*

We walk into the old folks home where Vera worked, and are met by the manager, whom Astrid explains to what happened.

“That sounds like something out of a nightmare, poor Vera, who would have done such a thing ?” The woman says.

“We kinda hoped you could point us in the right direction”. I say, looking around at the old people.

She shakes her head lightly. “I wish”. She spots an old man by a computer and walks over to him. “Mr Hamid, we have talked about this, shut it down”.

I stretch to look at the screen, the old dirty dog is looking at girls in their twenties, sucking on lollipops.

“Vera was adored by the residents”. The woman says as she comes back to us. “Me, they do not always like”.

“Did she have an office or a desk we might see ?” Astrid asks.

The woman makes a motion with her head for us to follow. “She had a locker, let me show you”.

As we follow her an old woman steps out in front of me, grabbing my arm. “Are you American ? My last husband was American … such a beautiful man”.

“Sounds great but I have to …”. I try to move around her.

“Don’t believe a word you hear”. She whispers out of the side of her mouth.

I stop and look at her. “Do you know something about Vera ?”

“She was an Angel of death”. She says. “And she killed poor Ellen Jacobsen for her life insurance … smothered her with a pillow till she couldn’t breathe … huh huh”.

She walks off looking secretive.

“Are you alright ?” Astrid asks, coming over to me.

“So, you could say Vera was suffocated, right ?” I ask, there is something here.

She nods. “Yeah I guess you could”.

“I think I know what we might be looking for”. I tell her.

“Great, because I know where to start looking”. She holds up something. “I found these in her locker, church bulletins. Guess from which church”.

Outside the church:

“Vera Ritz, yes I know her”. Father Petersen says.

“Well, she was buried alive last night”. I say. “Do you have any idea why ?”

Astrid nods. “We were thinking it could have something to do with her nasty habit of smothering senior citizens for their life insurance ?”

I kinda squat down a bit and look at the priest. “He doesn’t look surprised …”.

“Not surprised at all”. Astrid agrees.

“If I was told something like that I would be surprised … wouldn’t you ? Like … could you just …”. I say to Astrid.

She half jumps and makes a surprised face. “WHAT !”

“See that’s a surprised look”. I say, smiling at her.

“That was what I was going for”. Astrid says.

I turn to the priest. “My guess, father, is that Vera walked into your little magic box and told you everything about her unconventional use of orthopedic pillows and …”.

“If such a thing happened”. He cuts in, saying. “I would have urged her to turn herself in”.

“But she didn’t and someone punished her for it, just like with Dan Rasmussen”. Astrid says.

The priest looks from me to Astrid and back again. “What do you want from me ?”

“A confession would be nice”. I tell him.

He looks at me. “You know I was in the sanctuary”.

“Then tell us who it could be”. Astrid says. “Who else knows what Dan and Vera confessed to you ?”

“No one, it was between the confession and God”. He says, looking like the idea is disturbing to him.

I let out a groan. “It is so damn difficult to subpoena God''.

No now speaks for a moment and I shrug. “Okay let's go turn the confession box upside down”.

“Oh !” Astrid pretends to be super surprised.

I grin. “That’s the surprised look I was hoping for”.

We walk into the church, and I get into the side where the parishioner sits, while Astrid takes the priest's side of the box.

“What are we looking for anyway ?” She asks through the wall.

“Hell if I know”. I say looking around. “It is kinda underwhelming, isn’t it ?”

Astrid sighs. “Hey … I took your keys last night when you weren't looking, to make sure you wouldn’t drive”.

I straighten up. “Well I swiped a bottle of your expensive Tequila from your cupboard this morning”.

“I know you were gonna do that so I switched it with the cheap stuff”. She tells me.

I sit for a moment, then bite my lip. “That girl from the other night … I don’t even know her name, honestly I don’t really remember anything, I was blacked out drunk”.

She makes a small sound. “That has gotta be unsettling. Does this happen a lot ?”

“Me waking up with unknown girls ?” I ask … no it’s a first.

“No, getting blackout drunk”. She says.

I swallow. “More than it should”.

This is when I notice something, I reach up and pull at it, it is a small microphone on a wire, someone has been listening to confessions.

*Astrid*

“That’s gotta be .. well, I am sure that wasn’t easy for you to say”. I tell him softly. “But I think it is important that you did. You know realising that this is something you need to look into … and I appreciate … no, I am honoured that you would share that with me …I mean I know I am your partner and all, but … and I don’t even care if you feel the same, but I consider you a friend, I really do”. I pause for a moment. “You don’t have to say anything … just process it … Zac, are you processing ? Zac ?”

I get up and walk around to the other side, pulling the curtain aside. “Zac ?”

But he is gone.

Me and the priest find him out back … Apparently he has followed a wire from a microphone in the confession box … we all end at a locked door.

“Bingo”. Zac sys, looking at the priest. “What do you have behind this door ?”

“It’s a supplyroom”. Father Petersen says. “Ronnie keeps the supplies for the grounds and the soup kitchen in there”.

Zac looks at him. “What ? Soup guy with the little tiny crackers ?”

Father Petersen unlocks the door, and inside is the shrine of a mad man … candles, casting shadows on pictures and notes on the wall, the word sinner scribbled on most of them.

“I’ll be damned”. Zac mutters.

Back at the station:

“We have everyone looking for Ronnie”. I say to Lisbeth and Jensen, who is just entering the room. “Police, airport and train station, everything is being watched”.

“Okay, so what do we know about him ?” Lisbeth asks.

Jensen hands her some papers. “He grew up in the church, an orphan after loosing both parents”.

“His father was a violent alcoholic and beat his mother to death”. I tell. “He got locked up in a place for the criminally insane for it”.

Jensen's phone rings, and she takes it, then she looks at me and Lisbeth. “Father Petersen is MIA. Hospital security says his car is in the parking lot, there are signs of struggles and blood on the scene”.

“Why would Ronnie take his priest ?” Lisbeth asks.

“Maybe he wanted to repent ?” Jensen says.

The boss looks at her. “I am pretty sure that is not how it works”.

We all look at each other.

“Dan and Vera, Ronnie went after them for a reason”. Lisbeth says. “Why them ? Why now ?”

“Ronnie found out they got away with murder during their confession”. Jensen says. “So he punished them the same way they committed their crimes”.

Lisbeth nods. “If the priest knee about Ronnies father’s violence against his mom, he sure as hell is holding him responsible as well”.

Jensen gets another call and then comes over with her tablet. “At least the bolo paid off, here is Ronnie running a red light downtown not fifteen minutes ago”.

“That is very close to his childhood home”. I point out.

“That is the apartment where his mother died”. Lisbeth says, looking at me. “Find Zac and go”.

At the apartment:

Zac looks around in the not very nice looking hallway of the apartment building. “Childhood home of a crazy serial killer”.

“Seems kinda textbook”. I mumble.

“It’s this one”. Zac says, pointing to a door.

Then we hear father Petersen’s voice from inside. “Ronnie stop, please”.

Zac instantly kicks in the door and we run in, me going left, Zac right.

“Clear left”. I call back, when I find only empty rooms.

“Astrid ?” Zac calls.

I hurry in his direction. “Yeah ?”

When I get in, a beaten up priest is on the floor, tied to a chair, and Zac yells. “You got this ?”

“Yes”. I say, sheeting my gun as Zac runs after Ronnie.

I get down next to the priest and start to free him. “Hold on, the ambulance is on it’s way”.

*Zac*

I run after the little psycho and we end on the roof, where he climbs the railing. I wave at him to come down. “Uh Uh, you need to come with me”.

“I would rather go with God”. He says.

“That’s not really a good option”. I shrug. “You know ...”. He climbs to the outside of the railing. “Look I know it’s majestic, and there is a white dove and everything, but …”. When he leans forward to let himself fall, I throw myself forward trying to grab him. “Hey, hey, no”.

I do reach him, but the railing breaks, sending us both off the roof. I manage to grab the loose dangling railing with one hand, saving myself, but I can’t do anything for Ronnie.

Just when I am unsure if I am actually going to fall, Astrid grabs my hand. “I got you, I am going to pull you up”.

“It is not gonna hold”. I tell her, when she leans on the remaining railing, pulling at me, with all she has. “You are just gonna fall too”. But she keeps trying. “Sweetheart, it is not gonna hold, you have to let me go”.

“No !” She yells. “I am not gonna let you go”.

I watch as she strains herself, but the whole railing is about to come down. “Astrid, let me go”.

“I am not letting you go”. She says stubbornly.

“It’s okay … it’s okay”. I tell her.

She looks at me with annoyance. “NO ! I am not letting you go”.

I do the desperate thing, I can’t let her kill herself trying to save me and I hit her arm.

“Ouch, why the hell did you hit me”. She screams.

“You got to let me go”. I urge her.

She shakes her head. “I am not letting you … goooooo”.

The last word is dragged out because the railing gives in and we both fall. But because of her trying to pull me up we fall closer to the house, and the branches of a tree break my fall, until I land on a big one that doesn’t break … Jesus that hurts. However I can’t wallow in the pain, I manage to reach for Astrid, breaking her landing with my body, after all she is less durable than me.

“Okay tell me the truth Astrid”. I mumble. “Did you know the tree would catch us ?”

“I can’t believe you hit me”. She just yells.